weather system batters the southeast with high winds, rain, and tornados. we must do something. >> former congresswoman gabrielle giffords tells members of congress to take action on limiting gun violence while family members of sandy hook victims talk. >> together we can turn this tragedy into the event that turned the tide. and a hostage crisis unfolds in alabama where a gunman has held a 5-year-old boy captive in an underground bunker for more than a day. and he faces his capitol hill critics. former republican senator chuck

hagel begins what could be a tough road to confirmation. this is the "cbs morning news" for thursday, january 31st, 2013. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, folks in the southeast are assessing the damage this morning after dangerous tornado producing storm system demolished homes and killed at least two people. the giant twister tore through the town in georgia about 60 miles northwest of atlanta. one man was killed when a tree crashed through his mobile home. the storm tossed trucks around the interstate like match sticks. >> i cracked the door and it didn't give me time. when it got inside it tossed me into the bedroom and i went in the bathroom. it seemed like it would never be over. >> the system spawned least seven tornadoes through the southeast yesterday. damage was reported from georgia

to virginia. another man was killed in tennessee. meteorologist david bernard of our miami station wfor is following the severe weather system. >> it's been a rough 48 hours for the eastern two-thirds of the country. income, we can take a look at the map that shows ought of the storm reports since tuesday. those blue areas, over 500 reports of wind damage across the midwest and southeastern united states and within those we have a couple dozen reports of tornadoes where we had a damaging tornado particularly in northern georgia during the day on wednesday. but the good news is the bad weather has moved out and the cooler and dryer is moving in today. we're expecting 60 in new orleans as we prepare for the super bo super bowl. in the northeast we're going to see temperatures in the 40s and 50s but turning colder by this evening. temperatures. snow showers around pittsburgh and a high of 29 as well.

and look at the cold in the midwest. only 15 today for chicago. minneapolis, a high of 4. pretty quiet in the west with rain in seattle and a high of 49 degrees. i'm david bernard for cbs news miami. this morning police in alabama are still negotiating with a gunman who has taken a 5-year-old boy hostage. officials believe they have no reason to believe he's injured. the boy is holed up with the man in a bunker. the standoff began tuesday when the man boarded the school bus and demanded that the bus driver hand over two children. he refused and he shot and killed him and grabbed the 5-year-old boy. there is no relationship. the suspect was due in court yesterday to face a menacing charge. well, gun control took center stage on capitol hill as congress held its first hearing on the matter since the connecticut school shooting. amid a push for legislation by

the president and some lawmakers. former congresswoman gabrielle giffords, herself a victim of gun violence made a quick appearance. she made a brief appearance. >> the time is now. you must act. be bold. be courageous. americans are counting on you. >> at the same hearing giffords' husband mark kelly pushed forward requiring background checks but wayne la pea year of the national rifle association said criminals never submit to them. >> we're going to make all the law-abiding people go through the system and we're not going to prosecute any of the bad guys if we do catch one, and none of it makes any sense in the real world. >> requiring private sellers to require a background check before they transfer a gun is --

i mean for us, i can't think of something that would make our country safer than doing just that. >> during his testimony kelly made reference to another shooting in arizona. a gunman opened fire at a phoenix office yesterday. one person was killed. two others were wounded. and the gunman is on the run. city officials in newtown, connecticut, where 26 people were shot dead at an elementary school are calling for tougher gun control measures. hundreds attend add hearing last night and randall pinkston reports. >> reporter: skyla lewis set the picture of her son jesse. he was among the 26 killed at sandy hook elementary school. >> together we can turn the tragedy into the event can turn the tide. >> reporter: the by part san panel is considering policy changes following the december 14th massacre. many spoke in favor of new gun laws, a few against. >> the lawless do not observe

gun controls, restrictions, or regulations, and this leaves good and lawful citizens at an unjust advantage of the lawless. >> reporter: he lost his son to the bullets that day. he argued that gun control laws must consider those like lanza who suffer mental illness. >> that a person with these problems could live in a home who had access to among the most powerful firearms available to nonmilitary personnel is unacceptable. >> reporter: he received standing ovations, many of them, parents of the victims, one, the parent of a survivor. susan aaron's daughter escaped the shooting inside victoria soto's classroom. she joined the call to ban semiautomatic weapons. >> we stop being something to be proud of when we love our guns more than we love our children. >> reporter: this was the last of four public hearings for the

task force which will now consider writing new laws. randall pinkston, cbs news, newtown, connecticut. well, one of the latest victims of gun violence in this country, a 15-year-old chicago girl, is getting particular attention because she was shot and killed after performing at president obama's inauguration. she was shot as she walked with friends in a chicago park tuesday afternoon. the gunman was apparently not aiming at her. she was shot in the back as she tried to run. she is the 42nd homicide victim in chicago this month alone. and coming up on the "morning news," confirmation hearings begin for defense secretary nominee chuck hagel and we'll find out who has been chosen to resurrect the popular hostess twinkky snack cakes ahead. this is the "cbs morning news." and then fill the rest up with cream and it -- mommy, what's going on? what are you doing? so when we did the blonde roast, she finally went from a splash of coffee

to only a splash of cream. and i thought that was so cool, i said "well she's enjoying this." ♪ ♪ ♪ living with moderate to semeans living with pain.is it could also mean living with joint damage. humira, adalimumab, can help treat more than just the pain. for many adults, humira is clinically proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal events, such as infections, lymphoma, or other types of cancer, have happened. blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure have occurred. before starting humira, your doctor should test you for tb. ask your doctor if you live in or have been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. tell your doctor if you have had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have symptoms such as

fever, fatigue, cough, or sores. you should not start humira if you have any kind of infection. ask your rheumatologist about humira, to help relieve your pain and stop further joint damage. at this deafing that once belonged to president kennedy and to ted kennedy, i can't help but be reminded that even our nation's greatest leaders and

all the rest of us are merely temporary workers. >> an emotional farewell from john kerry yesterday. he spent 28 years as massachusetts's senator and on friday he'll be sworn in as secretary of state replacing hillary clinton. william cohen will replace kerry until an election in june. that probably won't happen to chuck hagel. his confirmation hearing to replace defense secretary leon panetta begins today and his biggest critics will be his fellow republicans. susan mcginnis is in washington with the latest. susan, good morning. >> good morning, anne-marie. chuck hagel will not get the smooth ride that john kerry did. they even called him ents from anti-israel to anti-gay to anti-green. this is the first time he addresses those criticisms at a

hearing that is critical to whether he becomes the next secretary of defense. chuck naegele, a former republican senator from nebraska should not expect a friendly reception on capitol hill this morning. >> president obama should choose someone else to lead the pentagon. >> reporter: he laid out the case on wednesday saying hagel is tough on israel, soft on iran. >> he simply does not understand the true basis of the u.s./israel alliance and he's the same person who suggests united states might be able to live with a nuclear iran. >> some well funded groups have taked to the tv with ads to oppose his confirmation. >> president obama says he supports sanction, hagel voted against them. >> but hagel has been aggressive in fighting the accusations. he made the rounds here on capitol hill to talk with former colleagues and clarify his

position. >> senator hagel and i had a very good meeting to talk about the department of defense and the future as well as his role. >> hagel picked up a big endorsement on the democratic side when he won over chuck schumer. >> i can now say i will support his nomination and urge my colleagues, many of whom who have had similar doubts to me to do the same. >> if confirmed he'll be the first former enlisted man and first vee name vet to become secretary of defense. now, six republicans have already said they will vote against hagel. senator graham of south carolina said he will block hagel unless current secretary of defense leon panetta testifies about the attacks in benghazi. anne-marie? >> thank you. ashley morrison is here in new york with that and more. good morning, ashley. >> good morning to you, anne-marie. the u.s. economy shrank

unexpectedly during the fourth quarter of last year. it contracted 1% partly because of big cuts in defense spending and the impact of superstorm sandy. economists see this as a one-time dip for all of 2012 the economy expanded at more than 2%. asian markets were mostly lower following some disappointing earnings. hong kong's hang seng lost half a percent while tokyo's nikkei bucked the trend adding a quarter percent. worries about a slowdown. wall street after a month of gaines, the dow fell 44 points to close at 13, 910. the nasdaq also fell 11 points. boeing posted fourth quarter profits that beat wall street's estimates. the company says it's standing by the batteries it uses for its grounded fleet of dreamliners and has reportedly already replaced more than 100 batteries. boeing says it will speed up the production of the 787. and good news for twink key

lovers. the golden sponge cake is about to make a comeback. hostess has reportedly picked two investment firms to buy its twinkies and other snack cakes. the deal is worth more than $400 million. it could come as soon as next week. i think it's safe to bring out the box of twinkies i've been hiding. coming up, the countdown to kick-off of super bowl xlvii. we'll show you how some out-of-towners are enjoying the time before the big game. [ tissue box ] he said nasal congestion. yeah...i heard him. [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. she can't always move the way she wants. now you can. with stayfree ultra thins. flexible layers move with your body while thermocontrol wicks moisture away.

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♪ hero's a look at the forecast in some cities around the country. new york, showers, 49. miami, showers, 78, dallas, lots of sunshine, 67 the high. a little more than three days before the san francisco 49ers and blchl ravens kick off super bowl xlvii. on wednesday the ravens held practice on the field and battled stiff winds. the 49ers had it a little easier praks it issing in the sanltds indoor facility. it's been more than a decade since new orleans has hosted the super bowl and many visitors are taking advantage of the city's biggest attractions, the cuisine. vinita nair is there with more. good morning, vinita. >> reporter: good morning. yes, sadly, the rumors are true.

they will be slightly administrator expensive this year, just 10%. but there are no shortages and certainly here in new orleans it feels like there's no shortage of anything. ♪ at cafe dumont in the french quarter it's roll, drop, and powder. on a typical day they are busy. this weekend they expect to get slammed. >> we think we'll reach capacity. we're bringing in more waiters. >> reporter: he says they have doubled the number of servers for their takeaway business and have ordered extra of everything. his goal is for guests to be in and out in under 15 minutes and covered in powder sugar. >> this is our tenth super bowl, so it's not our first rodeo. >> reporter: across new orleans the super bowl is proving to be a culinary boon. there are many new restaurants and some are charging

cancellation fees if you don't show up. extra workers and indicators and kitchen workers are being brought in on buses. shipping is also a central business where they're sending food overnight. owner frank says he uses the best italian cold cuts and a homemade salad. the store is normally closed on sunday bus for the super bowl they're making an exception. >> it's fun and crazy. as long as we can handle the crowds. >> reporter: while some locals are saying they're leaving the town to avoid the huge crowd restaurants are thrilled. they hope tourists bring plenty of casts. now cafe dumon, which is an icon, i asked them, you have tight quarters, where are you going to put two extra fryers? they're very creative. they have a tent in the back. >> they might as well.

they'll have the crowds and they'll definitely need it. the only place to see super bowl xlvii is right here on cbs. our kick-off show starts sunday at 6:00 p.m. eastern and "cbs this morning" begins broadcasting from new orleans today. when we return, the worm write as book. a new turn for bad boy dennis rodman. the storybook is amd at the younger set. ♪

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forecast in some cities around the country. washington, d.c., windy with 48 the high. atlanta also 48. st. louis, partly sunny, 33 the high there. denver, 47. seattle, showers, 51 the high. well, nba hall of famer and sometimes wedding dress model dennis rodman has turned a page on basketball. the retired hoops star is now a children's book author.

rodman's first book, "dennis the wild bull" was released yesterday. besides the name the character shares some of rodman's characteristics. they boenlt have nose rings and tattoos and dennis was once a member of the chicago bulls. i'm sure it will put the kiddies right to sleep. prince charles and camilla went on a royal ride urnlds ground. they did it to celebrate the 1550th anniversary of the subway's system. the last time was in 1986 when he and his late wife princess diana opened a new terminal at heathrow airport. patty davis has died. she was the middle. patty was in the middle and she sang the lead in the trio's popular tune "boogie woogie bugle boy." the andrews sisters sold many

records. she died wednesday in l.a. she was 94. coming up after your lou news on "cbs this morning," a special preview from new orleans and quarterback drew brooes. am equal? introducing the newest beauty trend. total effects cc cream c for color. c for correction. [ female announcer ] fight 7 signs of aging flawlessly. cc what's possible. everything's better with a great cup of coffee. exceptionally smooth and perfectly balanced

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. good morning. welcome to wusa9. you have made it to thursday. we're close. i'm mike hydeck, january 31, last day of january. we're glad you're with us. you're monika samtani.

nice to see you again. >> nice to see you. doesn't feel like it's been that long, does it? >> she'll have traffic momentarily. i'm jessica doyle in for andrea roane. it's been raining to beat the band. >> rough night. up to 3 inches north and west of town, frederick, loudoun counties. we have road closures due to high water. the good news is the rains are pulling away. still have problems in the forms of high winds today with a high wind advisory in effect till 6:00. you will see the sun but the winds are going to howl. temperatures will drop in the low to mid-40s and stay there all day long. west winds 20, 30 miles per hour could gust to 50 at times. yes, it's going to have a windchill factor. look at all the flood warnings. a lot of these for streams and creeks from montgomery and loudoun and frederick counties. dawson creek, the occoquan, the usual suspects when you get 1 to 3 inches of rain. south and east of town, thankfully we don't have the warnings and flash flood

warnings have pretty much expired just a few minutes ago. there go the heavy rains pulling along and away from the coast. behind it the cold air. look at all the snow showers we're dealing with. goodbye to the heavy rains. again 1 to 3 inches fell across the area. one last little line of showers from baltimore here coming through northern anne arundel county to around bowie and college park, right through d.c. once this passes, we're done with the rage. then we welcome the wind and the chill today. wind advisory just about everywhere with those gusts 40, 45, 50 miles an hour. temperatures already down in the mid-40s in the shenandoah valley. still 60 at reagan national. we'll be dropping quickly over the next few hours. high water, road closures, take it away. i have my list with me in my hand so i don't miss anything. good morning, everybody. definitely high standing water. i hit it myself coming into work this morning. i'm going to start off first of all with the east side of town. first of all on the beltway, that accident that happened

yesterday morning was cleared up midday. you do not have to worry right now on the beltway near route 50, landover, new carrollton area. everything is clear thankfully this morning. by the way, we've got flooding problems. westbound clopper road at route 124. let's take a look at 270 southbound at falls road. this is running well down from germantown to the point where the lanes divide but clopper road is affected. beach drive is closed basically between route 410 and the district line. let's go back over to the maps and check out the other side of town. no issues to report coming in from frederick on i-270. northbound 395 at the 14th street bridge, you're fine. southbound gw parkway, flooding problems memorial bridge to the 14th street bridge. porter road is closed between connecticut avenue and beach drive with a tree down as well. so several problems around our area. give yourself agent extra time. >> thanks, monika. we begin this morning with one of the things people are talking about right now.

powerful storm. you heard it, even in this area but it swept through the southeast wednesday. down south of us, it spawned tornadoes and some dangerous winds. >> at least two people died and dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed. one of the deaths happened in georgia when a tornado hit the town. another person died in tennessee when another twister hit near nashville. obama's pick to be the next defense secretary heads to capitol hill for his nomination hearing. former senator chuck hagel faces an uphill bath. some of his -- battle. some of his former cool a leagues feel he's too tough on israel. if confirmed, he would become the first former enlisted man to ever serve. former arizona congressman gabriel giffords